Old Crops Waiting to be Revived

By Stephanie Kee

December 2018 FEATURE
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Collection of nutmeg fruits to be made into cider and jam.
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Penang’s potential for plantation agriculture was obvious to its first settlers already soon after it was founded. It was hoped that cultivating crops for export to Europe would help cover administrative costs on the island.Map of the Moluccas Islands (currently known as Maluku Islands), the origin of Penang nutmeg and cloves.By 1802, pepper had become the most important export product on the island, but production soon dwindled following falling prices and increased interest in nutmeg and cloves. Thus, many pepper...

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Stephanie Kee

Going against the grain, Stephanie Kee moved from bustling KL to laid-back Penang, where the "creative pulse" is said to be. With no prior background in the arts, she dove headfirst into exploring the complexities of a flourishing local arts scene, only to discover there’s more to Penang than meets the eye.


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